Some of you may have seen one of my past posts, Family Cloth Genius, or Gross where I talked about using family cloth as a sustainable alternative option for restroom hygiene use. I have decided to make some more cloth so hubby can use some also, and so that we will have enough to last more than the every other day I have been washing them. I would like to have enough to go to maybe once a week after we finish cloth diapering our son.

In an effort to keep costs down, and do a little upcycling, I have purchased used flannel receiving blankets and fleece blankets very cheaply from local buy/sell/trade pages and will use these to make similar cloth to what we already have.

To start, I've washed all of the fabric, mostly because I want to be sure it is clean but also because it helps to make sure fabric has been washed at least once before you cut and sew it so any shrinking that would happen is already done before you try to put it together.

I cut all of the blankets and flannel into either 7" x 7" or 8" x 8" squares depending on what would yield the most full squares. (The larger they are, the easier they are for an adult to use though.) The finished size will be about 1/2" smaller in each direction once they are hemmed.

To begin piecing them, match a flannel side with either a fleece side, or another flannel with the intended outsides facing in. Hem the two pieces together at about 1/4" from the edges. Leave a 1 1/2" - 2" opening

Using scissors or your rotary cutter, cut a 45 degree triangle just outside of your stitching on each corner. This will make the corners come to a cleaner point without so much material stuck inside.

Turn the sewn pieces inside out. Close the hole, and begin to sew it shut from the outside by sewing close to the edge starting a little before the hole begins. Move closer towards the middle and sew about 3/8" from the edge all the way around until you get to where you started. This will help keep the fabric laying flat in place through washing. When you get to the end, you can reverse sew a bit to help secure the end of your thread. All you have left to do is set up your dirty can and a clean place like a shelf or stool to set your new sustainable hygiene cloth for use!

As with most things I do, if you would like to have something I make, but don't have the time or inclination to make it yourself, contact me and I will be happy to help you out!